


Anatolia

by Reverse_Vampire



Category: Final Fantasy Type-0
Genre: Gen, Some late entries for Type-0 Week 2k16 because I can't finish it on time, Type-0 Week 2k16
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-26 06:01:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7563061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reverse_Vampire/pseuds/Reverse_Vampire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Before the sun rises, Machina paid a visit to a house far away from known civilization. The past, present, and future...a visit that he will forget, but he will never be alone in the next cycle.</p><p> </p><p>Day One entry of Type-0 Week 2016. Theme: Dawn AND Resolution</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anatolia

**Author's Note:**

> First entry into Type-0 Week, and all I can say it's a pretty rushed job since I only thought about the concept a few days before the deadline. But nevertheless, here it is. 
> 
> FYI, this story's pretty much not set anywhere in Orience. But you'll know why later. Enjoy the fic.

Under the almost pitch-black night sky, a boy with dark-blue hair, his shoulders slanted and weary has been walking from points unknown. As moonlight shone within the dark surrounded by the dark atmosphere, the only thing visible around was the small lantern that the boy was carrying, barely holding out in the middle of the windy plains, being the only source of light anywhere around. 

 _It's been four, five hours...I lost track,_ thought the boy. Another strong wind blows, sending his indigo cape that was once long and flowy now torn from wear and tear against the wind current, making it flapping louder than the gust blowing against him. "Where did I come from?" was the only thing on his mind, with the only thing right now was setting his sluggish body to a shelter and get some well-deserved rest. Any shelter, someplace safe will do. At his current circumstance, he could not afford to become picky, struggling to keep his eyes open despite the odds of not passing out before he reached to a safe point. 

But before he felt like resigning his fate to the world (if he would even call it that) and passed out from exhaustion, his feet placed itself by instinct. Right in front of him about seven hundred meters away was a small house on a higher piece of land with a gradual rise resided all alone in a land where only grass, the sea, and the sky was visible in the boy's sights. Slowly and surely, with his legs about to turn jelly from the long walk, he pushed himself towards the next shelter and thought to himself as someone who was lucky enough to have encountered a place that will give him peace.

_No more pain, no more..._

Now, the boy stood right outside the door. Then he thought that maybe the house might not be empty after all, seeing a grey, newly-used doorstep under him and a small doorbell right at the side of the maroon, wooden door. But before he could press the doorbell, the door opened automatically and he was taken aback at the sudden movement. Right in front of him was another boy, with dark brown hair with his bangs that covered his right eye, looking probably about his age with a pair of squarish glasses that fit nicely to his face. 

"Ah, Machina. I was expecting you." Said the bespectacled boy, looking rather appreciative of the guest's appearance.

"...you mean, me?" The dark-haired boy pointed at himself, a little confused over his current situation.  _He does he even know my name?_ He thought, but that was probably the last thing that was on his mind. He can't think clearly and he could swear that his sight was declining in clarity, shaking his head and pressing his fingers onto both eyes. 

"You looked tired and famished. Come in, there's someone we need you to see." The bespectacled boy patted Machina's hand before wrapping his arm behind him as the two boys entered the vicinity. "But before that, you need to recuperate. It's been a long time, don't you think?"

Machina did not understand a single thing he said, but he was right. He was not looking his best at the moment, and what he needed now was either some rest or some food that could make him feel a little better about himself. 

"I guess that I haven't introduced myself." There was a short pause as the two walked towards a kitchen. "Well, okay, I've told you who I was before, but we don't really see each other much lately. I'm known by another name, but just call me Lean for now." 

* * *

Machina could felt a huge difference in his body, having eaten two bowls of mashed potato with gravy, five slices of bread with strawberry jam and three medium glasses of fresh milk, while an aloof-looking girl, who was supposedly the other occupant of the house, did nothing but sat on the other side of the square table. Her gaze was definitely one that was far from the daring sort, with her only giving eye contact to her guest at seldom times. He seemed to recall someone he assumed he has encountered from a distant past, with her long, dark, silky hair and neat bangs on both sides and wearing the Akademeia uniform, though Machina took some time to discern her attire before connecting the dots since her maroon scarf and shawl was obstructing her full attire. 

"Nice view, don't you think?" The girl asked, glancing the view at the window not far from where the two were seated. Machina did the same and turned, and for a while, he thought that for a moment, a bliss of tranquility struck him once again in a long time. It was still dark outside, but thanks to the neverending light that the lanterns that lead to a path towards the sea made it a little more visible to view what was out there. The currents made the atmosphere more peaceful than it usually is, seemingly that they were the only living beings in an area in the middle of nowhere to speak of. 

"I guess you're thinking if things were better like this..." She spoke, albeit her voice was hardly audible towards those who were some distance away from her.

"Hmm?"

The girl stood up and slowly walked out of the kitchen. 

"There's someone waiting for you upstairs. And it's someone very important to you." She said, looking back at Machina before making her way to the other side of the house. 

Machina swallowed his food and thought about what she meant before taking his last bites and followed the same route that the girl went. It was easy to find where she has headed to, with only a few doors in sight and the sole door that was open was where everyone was waiting for him. Without wasting any time, he walked as fast as he could and for a moment, he did not move once he was right outside the room. 

Just right in front of him, Rem was on the bed, looking rather groggy over her condition and finishing up her glass of water before putting it on a bed tray. Lean was sitting just beside Rem, while the other girl was standing on the other side, adjusting her hat as her eyes were on the newcomer.

"Machina." Rem said, sounding weak but was trying hard to be as normal as possible, not wanting her dear friend to be overtly worried about her.

"Rem..." A sudden jolt on the head disturbed his train of thought, before remembering the events that occurred just moments ago. "You were an Arbiter...Tempus Finis and we fell you. Me...and Class Zero. I, I---"

"...looks like you have some catching up to do." Said the dark-haired girl, walking towards Machina as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "We know we don't have much time, but for now, we need to let her rest."  

"I guess she hasn't introduced herself to you yet." Joker then spoke. "Like me, she's also known another name, but just call her Toono for now. For now, wait for us in the kitchen. I'll bring Rem down as soon as she feels better."

* * *

Truth be told, Machina thought that it was not a long wait for Lean and Rem to join them in the kitchen. Seeing Rem in pyjamas made Machina looked a little uneasy, knowing what he has done earlier and then seeing her back again in her normal state as if nothing has happened, aside from looking paler than her usual complexion. There was a basket of fresh bread laid at the centre of the small table and as soon as Toono placed the last glass of water on Rem's table, she filled up the empty seat that was meant for her. 

"As you can see and in case you both haven't realised, we aren't in Orience." Said Toono, slowly putting both hands together in a prayer gesture. "At least, it does look like it superficially, but we're on another plane of reality. Not quite the Unseen Realm, but the closest I could say is that we're in some sort of limbo. But that's not important. It's been a while since we last met. And by the time the sun rises, you need to leave."

"To prepare you for the next cycle. And here's hoping that it'll be the last. For both you two and everyone in Orience." Lean interjected, adding on to what his partner had said. "I feel like I must say this to you, but since you're going to forget it anyway by the time you leave..." He stopped, now hesistant of whether he should start blabbering about plans that were meant to be.

"By the time we leave," Machina picked up. "What do you mean?"

Lean took a deep breath and thought for a while before he continued. "It's going to be different. Different where you two and Class Zero were not meant to be. I know it's hard for you to take in after all the times you have been together with them despite all of Arecia's attempts to separate you from the others, but I wished I could be sure that you and Rem would do something to change things for the better in the next cycle."

Rem, who has been listening to the conversation since it began, shook her head upon realising that there were some things she does not understand. "B-but why?"

" _Within the spiral emerged a single locus, so close yet invariably distant._  
_In the flash of an eternity, one became ten and six, then ten and two,  
__And the wheel began whirling once more._

 _The first revealed the power of acceptance,_  
_The second, the power of kindness,_  
_The third, the power of knowledge,_  
_The fourth, the power of valor,_  
_The fifth, the power of innocence,_  
_The sixth, the power of tenacity,_  
_The seventh, the power of discernment,_  
_The eighth, the power of tranquility,_  
_The ninth, the power of action,_  
_The tenth, the power of ignorance,_  
_The eleventh, the power of wisdom,_  
_And the twelfth, the power of judgment.  
_ _Cast away were the loci of fear, love, suffering, and age._

Surely you remembered this part in the Nameless Tome. And as you have realized, we are the loci that were cast away from the spiral." Said Toono, closing her copy of the Nameless Tome as soon as she finished reciting the specific stanzas. "This is why we weren't very successful in integrating back with Class Zero. We've tried, but inferences..." Her voiced trailed off, with Machina and Rem finding a little difficult to comprehend her murmurs under her breath. Toono made direct eye contact with Machina and Rem before continuing. "I'm not going to reveal the specifics of what would happen to the both of you, but the situation is dire. The spiral...it's been about six hundred million cycles that failed to call upon Agito. It's a futile act, and it pains to see everyone struggling on a hopeless, neverending battle since the dawn of time." 

"Six hundred million cycles..." For Machina, that figure was a lot for him to take in at a single go, with his left arm gradually slipping away from the table. 

"You know that there's no point in continuing this any further. And Arecia and the other one is doing whatever it takes to see everything right till the end." Lean took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nasal bridge before letting out a heavy sigh. "We've done all we can. But you won't be alone for this one. We're now doing our best to give you two and Class Zero a chance to end this peacefully, but we can't be doing this by ourselves. And that's where you and Rem will come in." 

"Plan? But you said that we'll forget everything that happened here the moment we leave. How are we supposed to do that?" Machina looked increasingly worried over everything that has been said to him. 

"About that..." Toono turned, looking out at the window to see that the sky is now in a lighter shade of blue than what she had seen several minutes earlier. "There's not much time, but I have faith that the two of you will be able to make something out. Will you usher in an era of peace, or will Orience destroy itself from destruction once again?" With that, she pulled her seat out and stood up. "Dawn is coming, and you have to go."

As Rem stood up, she took some time to regain her balance, not before looking out at the window to see the view, and this time with sunlight finally appearing that dissipates the dark skies from earlier. 

"I wish this day would come. To see a sky as clear as this in a more peaceful world." Rem whispered, mesmerized with the sky she was looking. 

"Same here." Lean helped Rem to walk her towards the main door, with her trying to keep her balance as they made their way to the exit. "Seems like Arecia's initiated her plans for this cycle. There is nothing Toono and I could do for you, but we wish you the best."

"But will we meet again? You both look as if you knew all about us." Machina said before putting his hand on the knob, slowly twisting it as he turned to Lean, with Rem steadily holding onto Machina. "From the very moment I came here, and you looking after Rem...there's so many questions I wanna ask---"

"We would probably meet again, but farewell." Once the knob has been completely turned, the two mysterious persons pushed Machina and Rem off the house, their unnatural strength was a little too much for Machina to fully comprehend, and for a brief moment, he felt as if his name was being called over and over and over...

* * *

**10:51PM**

 

"...achina? Machina?" 

The Class Second cadet could hear someone calling out to him. Those warm, petite hands...he could recognize it somewhat and as he regained some visibility, he saw Rem shaking him and looking rather worried.

"...nnn...Rem? What are you doing here, or rather, why am I doing on the floor?" The carpet floor definitely looked glamorous with the red, black and gold Vermillion Bird emblem covering the ground, but it was hardly the cleanest floor he had ever known. As soon as he stood up, he figured out that he was lying under his study desk, but for some reasons unknown, he did not recall hitting himself in the head, accidental or not. 

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Rem." Machina then checked his head for any recent injuries, using his hand to scan to look for a bump or sore. "Hmm, nothing. I guess I was too tired and fell asleep. I'm glad that you checked on me...and look at the time. I guess dinner's a no-go now. Not that it matters anyway, I felt like I ate a lot even though the last time I had my hands on a bowl of tea pudding was six hours ago."

"Thank goodness." Rem was relieved, knowing that her childhood friend was weary from all the studying. "You said something about you feeling like you ate a lot? That's new from you."

"Yeah, in some sort of dream that I had before you woke me up. So you were there along with some guy who's probably from Milites judging from his attire, and another girl who happens to be a cadet. I remembered we were talking about something important somewhere in this old house's kitchen and everything was cosy, like how things used to be when we were still living together back at the village. Anything in between's pretty fuzzy, but I don't think it was that important anyway."  

"I...was there?" Rem pointed to herself and then let out a little chuckle. "Hehe. Seems like we were having a good time. You said something about seeing someone from Milites talking with the rest of us. I wonder if that was a sign about Rubrum getting along with Milites after all." She looked at Machina's messy study desk with his notes scattered around all over and with some slips of paper under the chair and desk. "You must be tired. From what I've heard, you need to be prepared to be sortie into a mission tomorrow. Well then, I guess I won't keep you away from your bedtime."

"Oh, yeah. Guess I need all the sleep I can get. Shall I send you to your room?"

"It's okay." Rem was already out of his room, smiling radiantly as ever. "Sweet dreams, and good night. Here's hoping tomorrow will be a better day for all of us."

 

 

_ANATOLIA: END_


End file.
